Nick Fairley

[TrustMeIamRight]

I gave the guy a hard time for missing voluntary workouts after talking about wanting to be a leader and helping to lead the team to the Super Bowl.

I read an article today about him that said -- in the 5 weeks from the mini-camp to their 1st practice, Fairley dropped 20 lbs and the Lions are saying he is in the best shape they have seen him since joining the team out of college. So I have to give him props, for backing up the talk about wanting to help take this team to the next level

I truly hope this follows up on the field and in his play -- If he and Suh play up to their ability -- It gives the Lions a tremendous tandem at the DT position. I think Fairley and Delmas are going to be big keys to the Lions success this year defensively. If they can stay on the field -- I think the Lions could be much improved on that side of the ball.

 

[RobBase]

I got nervous clicking on this link. Great to hear it's all good news! Sometimes these kids just need to grow up a little and get away from their bad influences back at home. Fairley is a big a bad ass as Suh is for a lot of same reasons and should be a Pro Bowl caliber player this year.

Fairley on D and Broyles on O predicting they'll be the 2 biggest break out players for the Lions this year.

 

[Microwahevo]

So I have to give him props

Should we expect an <cough>apology<cough>? I remember this topic being one that created a famous Lions Board argument.

 

[Microwahevo]

And I'm fuggin stoked about this. Those 2 nasty DTs are gonna hopefully open up soooo many opportunities for our DEs

 

[RobBase]

The Fairley draft was the one I missed out on over at SeeBS. Who did everyone want that year? I assume you guys never thought Fairley would slip to the Lions right?

 

[themuzzer]

The Fairley draft was the one I missed out on over at SeeBS. Who did everyone want that year? I assume you guys never thought Fairley would slip to the Lions right?

No one had him slipping that far that I can remember. Most were happy that he did that I can recall. I coined the name Nick "The Nerf" over there, but it hasn't quite taken off as much as I had hoped.

 

[themuzzer]

I think most people were wanting J.J. Watt, Prince Akumura, Castonzo, At the 13 spot, but lots of talk about moving up to grab Patrick Peterson.

 

[broncosmitty]

Yeah, i was all about Prince. But when Fairley started falling in the days leading up to the draft, I had him as my wildcard option.(Option C) Pretty excited they went BPA that day, and I still am.(still annoyed my buddy scheduled softball practice in the rain that day) Hard to come up with another defensive line that has as much athleticism, youth and potential as ours.(Paragraph) Good on ya MikeD, I love hearing about our guys being ready and bringing it. And I agree, Nerf and LouisD will be big factors in our season.

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

Was JJ Watt still on the board when you picked?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Should we expect an <cough>apology<cough>? I remember this topic being one that created a famous Lions Board argument.

What would I apologize for? My original post wasn't degrading toward Fairley -- I just questioned Fairley's decision to skip the voluntary OTA's. I don't think the Fairley thread was one of the famous Lions Board arguments -- The thread wasn't even 3 pages. I included my original post in my first Fairley thread.

I thought Fairley said he was ready to step into more of a leadership role? I'm guessing skipping out on the voluntarily OTA workout isn't a step in the right direction.

 

[VulturesRule]

Was JJ Watt still on the board when you picked?

Don't think so. For some reason I thought Watt when off the board in the top ten that year. I remember thinking it was going to be Prince, that Fairley was dropping because of injury concerns and who wanted to take a chance on that? So when he was drafted, it was a 'What the ....' moment.

In retrospect, may have been a wise choice. It's one of the reasons I'm willing to be supportive of Mayhew and company managing the Lions. This should be a moving ahead year.

 

[RobBase]

2011 NFL Draft Results and Analysis: Round 1 - National Football League - ESPN

Watt was picked 10th, Fairley was picked 12th

 

[broncosmitty]

How's that Bears first round pick from '11 doing?

 

[gvsulaker82]

Dudes a beast he will have an awesome season

 

[gvsulaker82]

Suh and fairley are both in for monster seasons which will in turn help ansah get roy

 

[K.J.Ester]

I know I am in the very small minority here.... maybe alone... but I am still not on the Fairley band wagon yet. I still dont believe it was a great pick.

Last year, he had a few games where he looked good at times. I did not think he was dominating in any of them. He sometimes beats his blocker and shoots into the backfield for a quick sack, but I just dont remember him being in the QBs face a lot other than those sacks he had.

I think Suh is double teamed far more and not only got more sacks, but was constantly in the QBs face just missing out on many others.

Dont get me wrong. I dont think he is a bum or anythng like that. He is a very good DT. He and Suh together are very possibly the best tandem in the NFL. But I still stand by my belief that at the time we took him, we did not need another DT and we had some huge holes we needed to fill when there were good players available in those positions. I am just a believer that when you have what is expected to be great talent available in areas of need, it is not right to ignore them and take a guy who adds depth in a strong position. If you do, he has to be expected to be one of the best ever to come out.

Maybe Fairley will prove me wrong this year. God I hope so. But until I see him dominate in a more consistent fashion and have more than a few good games in a season, I wont believe he was the right pick at the time. He will have to earn my respect because I wont give it to him because he has shown flashes of promise.